Best Rated Colleges 2010 - Highest Rankings

US News and World Report's annual college ranking survey breaks schools into several academic divisions - National Schools, which are schools with doctoral and research programs, medical schools, and law schools; schools that offer up to a masters' degree; and schools that offer only baccalaureates. To further complicate things, a couple of these categories are subdivided further by geographic region. Here is a sampling of schools that grant masters' degrees and beyond.

1.Villanova 2.Providence College 3.Loyola University/Maryland 4.Fairfield University 5.College of New Jersey 6.Bentley University 7.Ithaca College 8.University of Scranton 9.Rochester Institute of Technology 10.Quinnipiac University

Top Colleges Southeast

1.Rollins College 2.Elon University 3.Stetson University 4.James Madison University 5.The Citadel 6.Loyola University New Orleans 7.Belmont University 8.Appalachian State University 9.Mercer University 10.College of Charleston

Top Colleges Midwest

1.Creighton University 2.Butler University 3.Drake University 4.Xavier University 5.Valparaiso University 6.Bradley University 7.John Carroll University 8.Truman State University 9.Hamline University 10.University of Evansville